Is it worth it?

<p>We are from Illinois and daughter has UWM as her first choice college at this point in time (soon to be sophomore). She wants to major or minor in Scandinavian Studies and march in the band. My problem is the out-of-state tuition. If she keeps up the way she is going she would qualify, I think, for merit scholarships at a LAC that has a Scan Studies major. Are the scholarships listed on the UW website as meagre as they appear? Is there any merit help at all for out-of-staters? I have heard that if you do well your first year that there can be department scholarships, but have been unable to verify this info. Does anyone know if this is true?</p>

<p>Yes, merit aid for OOS is limited. And yes, depts control much aid for majors that you apply for later. The local Alumni Association offers some merit scholarships too.</p>

<p>Look into those alumni scholarships. I know that our local alumni had about 5-10 $2,000 scholarships. I got $400 from UW's financial aid, but the external scholarships would have helped. Didn't think I had a good chance at them though, and you have to commit to the school before you are considered for them.</p>

<p>Our local club had 4 apply and 3 got $2000 each. Good odds in Seattle. Illinois will be tougher.</p>

<p>Thanks for the information. It is as I thought. Ouch. but, lots of water under the bridge until 2009.</p>